


Riparian

by SkyLeaf



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/F, Fluff, Pre-Breath of the Wild, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24721636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLeaf/pseuds/SkyLeaf
Summary: As Mipha left the river to come sit next to her in the grass that covered the river bank, Zelda soon found herself facing the truth about her feelings for her companion.
Relationships: Mipha/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Riparian

**Author's Note:**

> A little thing I wrote because I wasn't feeling too good and I wanted to cheer myself up by writing something, and when I saw lozbotwfanart's [Hyrule Pride Week](https://lozbotwfanart.tumblr.com/post/618224054061645824/announcing-hyrule-pride-week-from-june-14-to-june) it just felt even more like a sign for me to do just that.

It was not until she lifted the quill from her page of her notebook and saw how the lines had not formed the familiar look of the leaves of the Swift Violet in front of her, the very reason she was even sitting there on the river bank with the writing pad resting against her knees and the ink bottle having found a fragile balance between the two stones she had pushed next to it in an attempt at keeping it from falling over, that Zelda realised how she had been drawing Mipha, her gaze having almost seemed to be drawn towards her, the task of trying to illustrate the way Mipha almost seemed able to glide through the water like a Rito soaring through the sky having appeared much more captivating than the study Zelda had otherwise had every intention of continuing the second she was finally able to leave the castle, able to sit down and simply do as she pleased without her father having to find out and berate her for wasting time when they already had so little left of it.

Zelda was sure that, with the way her face felt like it was burning, everyone who would have happened to look over at her in that second would have seen her blush as she quickly tore the page out of her notebook, crumpling it up until it was a tiny ball in her hand and letting it fall to the ground. She was there to study the effects of the Swift Violet in its natural setting, not to create drawings of one of the Champions, no matter how beautiful the sight of the light reflecting in Mipha’s Lightscale Trident was when she would leap up into the air, twisting around before disappearing under the surface of the sea once more. So, shaking her head, like that would help her focus, Zelda forced herself to tear her gaze away from Mipha, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat as Mipha shot out of the water in a cloud of tiny drops of water, giving off the impression that she was surrounded by rainbows, and sent her a short smile before gravity pulled her back down once more.

The Swift Violets, they were the reason she was there, and with how rare it was for her to get the chance to study them in the wild, Zelda would make sure that she did not allow herself to waste this one.

But, try as she might, Zelda was only able to remain focused for a few minutes.

The moment she had reached out to smudge the line she had just drawn, trying to capture the way the petals of the flower cast a long shadow over the stem, Zelda heard how Mipha had left the water, walking along the shore to get to where Zelda had sat down when they had first arrived, the mixture of sand and dirt giving way underneath her feet as she paused next to her.

She already knew that it would only lead to her becoming even more distracted, but Zelda still looked up at her, and although she tried her best, she was not quite able to convince herself that the only reason she did that was how it was the polite thing to do, not when butterflies appeared in her stomach, fluttering around as Mipha leant in to get a chance to see the contents of her writing pad.

“What is that?” she asked, gesturing towards the page. From the way she looked down at the spot next to Zelda, quickly reaching out to brush some of the pebbles aside before sitting down, it became apparent that she was not intending to go back out into the water anytime soon.

At once feeling incredibly thankful that the drawing of Mipha was now nothing more than a crumpled up piece of paper, the humidity of the air around them as well as the ground beneath surely already have made it so that, even if she had tried, Mipha would not have been able to restore it to a state where she could see who it depicted, Zelda used the end of the quill to gesture towards the drawing that took up the top half of the page. “This is a Swift Violet,” she said, before nodding towards the flower in front of them, Mipha following her line of sight in an instant, “it is quite the special flower, at least that it was I believe right now.”

She had expected for Mipha to nod, her manners making her at least make an attempt at feigning interest before she would head back to the river again, but as Mipha leant in closer towards her, reading the notes Zelda had scrawled down, the letters running along the edges of the page to make space for the drawing, the lack of distance between them immediately making Zelda’s heart sped up, creating a quick rhythm against her ribs as she tried not to let it show how it affected her, she seemed genuinely interested, pointing towards the bottom page as she turned towards her again. “They allow you to be faster?” Mipha read, raising a brow. “Have I understood that correctly?”

“Yes.” the word was closer to a whisper than the firm, confident voice her father always seemed to expect to hear whenever she would speak, so Zelda made sure to clear her throat before she continued. This was her area of expertise, she knew what she was talking about, or at least she was confident that she knew enough to not make Mipha look at her and wonder how she could possibly have thought that asking Zelda about her work would reveal anything of interest to her. Zelda knew all that, and yet, she could not completely keep her voice from trebling as she continued. “I haven’t got the chance yet to test exactly what component of the flower gives it its abilities, but research from the castle has already shown that, when ingested in controlled doses, this flower heightens the guards’ strength, allowing them to run faster than they were otherwise able to.”

Tapping the tip of the quill against the paper, Zelda tried her best to pretend that she was not waiting for Mipha to give her some vague excuse for having to leave and that the idea of that happening was not already making her heart feel just a bit heavier. It was easier not to acknowledge it, especially as there was no reason for her to feel that way. They were not close, her and Mipha, their relationship was not like what Zelda could observe between Mipha and Link, the two of them often disappearing for hours when they would all meet in the library of the castle to discuss what they could do to prepare for the threat of the Calamity.

Something that felt suspiciously like the kind of jealousy she had once read about in the books she tried not to let her father know she sometimes wasted her time on rose up from her stomach, but Zelda pushed it back down. This was why she tried her best not to examine her feelings or reasons for doing things too closely—it only made things even more complicated. And with how she had yet to figure out just what she would have to do for the goddess to finally allow her to reach her powers, the gift that had been an innate ability for every princess before her, Zelda’s life was complicated enough already. The last thing she needed now was to also have to wonder why she did not pull her hand away as the tips of Mipha’s fingers brushed against her knuckles, the way she knew she would have done if it had been anyone but Mipha sitting next to her in that moment.

But although Zelda did her best not to let it show, perhaps she was not truly able to hide how she glanced towards Mipha’s hand, for Mipha looked at her, a twinkle in her eyes that Zelda did not know how to interpret sending the butterflies in her stomach fluttering around even faster, as she moved her hand away. “I am sorry,” Mipha whispered, and although Zelda wanted to tell her that it was fine, she had not minded it at all, she found herself unable to do anything other than nodding stiffly, letting Mipha continue, “uh, but, well, this—this flower, the drawing of it, it is really pretty. It looks exactly like the real thing.”

They both looked up, casting a glance at the purple petals that adorned the flower, before Zelda shrugged, the motion seemingly pulling Mipha’s attention back towards her as well.

“Yeah, it might look a little bit like it,” Zelda said, “but there are still so many mistakes that I doubt I will actually be able to use this drawing. Just look here,” she let the quill rest a few millimetres above the spot where a few quick strokes had formed the bottom of the stem, the lines having bled together where Zelda had accidentally placed her hand on top of the ink before it had had time to soak into the paper, “it is a mess. This part, it looks more like I tried and failed to draw the shadow it casted, except that not even that would have been right since the sun would have it hit from this angle, meaning that the shadow has to be over here.” Zelda paused, forcing herself to slow down a bit, using the excuse of having to take a deep breath to hide how the disappointment with the poor drawing was surely apparent in both her voice and in the look she sent the drawing. “I doubt that I will be able to use this drawing since it needs to be good enough to allow me find and identify the flower with only this to guide me.”

From her spot next to her, Mipha hummed softly, though Zelda could hear from the way she let her voice rise whether or not she agreed with her assessment of the drawing.

The next second, however, Mipha had reached out to point towards the page, tapping her finger against the edge of the paper as she began to speak. “Well, I know that you of course know more about this than I do, but, to me at least, this drawing looks quite good. Actually,” she said, emphasising the word with another tap against the writing pad, “I will go so far as to say that I think this drawing will be perfect for the use you just described, or at least I am sure I would be able to recognise the flower the next time I happened to look at it as long as I would be able to consult this drawing.”

Zelda looked back up at her, almost certain that she would find a teasing glint in Mipha’s eyes, a sign that she was either trying to make her feel a little better, having realised just how powerless Zelda felt each time she would have to return home after yet another journey to one of the sacred springs, or simply trying to make fun of her. And while Zelda already knew that the latter would not be the case, not with how she always heard about how kind Mipha was to everyone around her, the exact opposite of how Zelda had acted, with how she could still sometimes hear the words she had yelled at Link echo through her brain when she was not doing her best to forget about it, the first option seemed quite likely. After all, Zelda was already certain that Impa had noticed her sour mood, having spent several minutes doing nothing but nod at what she was saying the last time they had been able to leave the castle to inspect some of the newly discovered guardians, praising the conclusions she had arrived at. But, to her surprise, she did not find any of that as she inspected the lines that formed around Mipha’s lips as she smiled at her. Instead, as Mipha reached out to touch the writing pad again, Zelda could see how her eyes almost seemed to shine with sincere interest.

“Do you have all of your notes in this?” Mipha asked, and Zelda did not have to ask to clarify that she did indeed mean the notebook as she immediately did that herself by touching the edge of the pages.

“Some of them. I mostly use it when I am not able to bring anything bigger with me, so, actually, most of my notes are kept in a bigger notebook back at the castle.” Zelda made sure to interrupt herself, faking a little cough, before she would have been able to let it slip how that notebook was now kept in the library, and that, while he had said it was to make sure that it would not be lost to thieves or any of the fires that sometimes lay waste to the more flammable rooms in the castle, Zelda knew that it was her father’s way of trying to ensure that she would not be able to waste any more time by continuing her research while she had still not been able to find her powers.

Mipha let out a tiny impressed sigh. “So that is only a fraction of your notes?” when Zelda nodded, she could see how Mipha tilted her head, gesturing towards the notebook, her gaze flickering back towards her face. “May I?”

At first, Zelda was not sure what she meant by that, but then, the moment before the silence between them would have lasted for enough time for it to become awkward, it dawned on her what Mipha was trying to say. “Oh, of course!” Zelda said, giving the writing pad to Mipha. “Feel free to leaf through it.”

It was not until Mipha sent her a short smile, whispering something Zelda was not quite able to hear but was sure had been a thankyou, that Zelda even thought to consider the risk of whether or not there might be another drawing of Mipha hidden somewhere among the sketches of different flowers, plants, and rocks, and by then, she knew that it would be more telling to ask Mipha to give back the notebook so that she would be able to make sure that she really had not forgot to tear out a drawing of Mipha swimming through the water.

So although she could feel how the fear of Mipha looking up to demand an explanation for such a drawing was making her hands shake a bit, Zelda simply made sure to pull her sleeves down a bit to cover her hands and pretended that she did not watch Mipha intensely as she leafed through the contents of the notebook. It was easier that way, as it would not require for her to stop and wonder exactly what the butterflies in her stomach meant, why her heart skipped a beat when Mipha inched closer towards her, holding the writing pad so that Zelda could see how she was pointing at the tiny sketch of the Silent Princess she had been able to bring back home to study within the comfort of her own chambers, or why Zelda at once looked forward to the moment when Mipha would leave her alone so that she would not have to worry about maintaining the perfect façade anymore while also fearing the loneliness that would no doubt finally be able to reach her again the moment Mipha would head back into the river.

Lost in her own thoughts, Zelda almost managed to fail to hear how Mipha had asked her a question. Blinking once, then twice, Zelda tried to remember what she had said, and just as Mipha opened her mouth, no doubt to repeat the question, her mind finally seemed willing to help, providing her with the answer she had searched for.

“No,” Zelda began, before hesitating, unsure of whether or not her voice, her face, or perhaps her body language would reveal what the truthful answer to the question really was, “I—I don’t think I have ever tried drawing another person.” a short laughter that had a hollow ring, even to her, did not seem to do much to convince Mipha that she was telling the truth, so, although she knew that she was really only making the situation worse, making it even more awkward for herself when she would have to admit to having lied, Zelda continued. “I am afraid that I simply do not have the talent necessary to draw anything more complicated than what you have already seen here.”

Back at home, hidden away underneath her bed, Zelda having made sure to let the servants know how she did not want anyone to look there, were several sketch pads, all of them consisting of pages upon pages of sketches, drawings and paintings of those around her. Most of the old ones had shown Urbosa, a few lines connected with a circle where Zelda could see she had seemingly used almost all the red paint in Hyrule having been her first attempt at drawing her, while the latest was only a few weeks old, Zelda having looked out of her window after Urbosa had been forced to admit defeat after having gone to attempt to cheer her up after yet another catastrophic meeting between the Champions only to see how Urbosa had gone to sit on the bench that had been placed underneath her mother’s favourite tree. The wind had played with her hair, and in that moment, Zelda had been so sure that, if she had not jumped from the windowsill to go find her sketch pad before running back to press the tip of the quill against the paper, forming quick, short strokes, she would not have been able to breathe, and so, that was what she had done. But while many of the drawings showed both Urbosa as well as her father, one of them even capturing the rare smile, the memory of it having been soured slightly by how Zelda knew that it was Link the smile had been meant for, how Link would have stood directly in front of her father if she had wanted to draw him, as well as the other Champions, most of them still had Mipha as their subject. Cutting through the water, leaping up into the air, Zelda had tried to draw it all, and by now, the only thing she still needed to perfect was the way Mipha could smile and make her feel like the sun was shining on her.

She must have been silent for far longer than what she had thought, for the next moment, Zelda felt how Mipha placed a hand on her shoulder, looking over at her with a curios expression on her face. “What are you thinking about?” Mipha asked, and Zelda could have sworn that she was doing it on purpose, knowing full well how her voice almost seemed to contain a laugh even when she was only talking.

“Oh, I was just thinking about some of the drawings that I have back at home,” Zelda lied, deciding that the best way to ensure that Mipha would not notice how her voice broke, already letting her know how it was about more than just that, was to stay as truthful to what she had really been thinking about as she could without it being enough to allow Mipha to guess exactly why Zelda reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face, making the movement as slow as she could without Mipha noticing how it was meant to cover how she was surely blushing.

Next to her, Mipha shifted, planting her hands in the grass and leaning back, just enough so that she could look up at the clouds that moved across the sky high above them. “Yes,” she said, and though Zelda already knew that it had to be something she was imagining, she could not help but wonder if the slight edge of something else in her voice she could hear was really disappointment, “I am sure they are beautiful.”

With how many of them had Mipha as their subject, Zelda could say without a doubt that not even her own shaky hand and the way she was often too impatient to wait for the ink to dry fully, making it so that many of the drawings were mostly smudged lines and fingerprints from where she had forgot about how she could not touch the page, would ever have been enough to make the drawings any less than that.

As she nodded, Zelda was sure that the fact that she did not have to lie as she answered was the reason for the slight change to her tone, the way it did not sound as unsure anymore. “They are.” hearing how self-satisfied that must have sounded, Zelda quickly added. “Or at least the subjects are often quite beautiful so I suppose that the drawings might qualify for that description as well.”

Mipha sent her a long glance, and for a second, Zelda was sure that Mipha could see straight through her, into her soul, and that, in just a moment, she would tell her that she knew, knew about the drawings and how Zelda had often been hiding behind a column, a hedge, or using the distance her own chambers provided her with to be able to study those around her.

But instead, Mipha simply let out a sigh, before she pushed herself back up so that, rather than almost lying down, she was sitting up next to her, crossing her legs. “Zelda, I have an idea,” she exclaimed, and although Zelda right then was still distracted by how her scales caught the sunlight, she could hear the joy in her voice as she continued, “why don’t you join me in the water? We could swim together for a moment.”

“Uh,” Zelda began, the question having caught her completely off guard.

Swimming? She had been so sure that she would have to defend herself, to create some elaborate lie that would have been able to explain just why she seemed to enjoy drawing Mipha so much, not to have to answer the question of whether or not she would like to swim for a moment. Vaguely, some part of her was aware of how it had been a suggestion rather than a question, how she did not technically have to justify not wanting to head into the water, but right then, it did not matter to her. All Zelda could think about was how she had intended to continue with her studies, making a lifelike drawing of the Swift Violet she had found, but even then, that was not quite enough to let her forget about how even the mention of the water had been enough for Mipha to suddenly seem much more relaxed.

Slowly, trying her best to consider each word, Zelda answered. “I am not sure that would be a good idea, I mean, I know that my father would not be happy if he heard about how I chose to swim around in a river.” for once, Zelda was even a little bit grateful for the strict rules and etiquette that came with being a princess.

But it seemed that either Mipha did not care about them as much or perhaps the rules that governed every aspect of her life were not the same as those Zelda had been given, for she simply brushed Zelda’s worries aside with a shrug. “He would never have to know about it,” Mipha said, already jumping to her feet. Turning around, she held out her hand towards Zelda, “I would never tell him if you don’t, and since we are the only ones out here, it means that he would never have to know about it.”

It was tempting. No, even that was too weak a word to describe it. As Zelda sat there, looking up at Mipha’s outstretched hand and the invitation the smile Mipha sent her hid, she would have given everything to be able to simply let her duties wait, forget about how this had been the first time in months where she had been able to find a moment away from the castle and the eyes that always seemed to rest on her there, how she had been meaning to continue with her studies in the hope of how she might one day be able to convince her father that, although she was not able to use her sealing powers yet, she could still help in the fight against the Calamity, and accept Mipha’s offer for them to spend more time together. For that was what it was. Zelda had spent too many hours in the company of her tutor, learning about how, in the world of royalty, there was never an interaction that did not carry a deeper meaning, how everything was always carefully rehearsed, not to know what the invitation meant.

“Come on, I will teach you how to swim if you don’t know already,” Mipha tried again, her smile growing a bit wider as she gestured for Zelda to take her hand.

And that was what made the decision for her.

Finally reaching up to take Mipha’s hand and let her help her to her feet, Zelda laughed softly, the sound for once not being meant to hide her true feelings. “Well, I doubt that I will really need that seeing as I have been swimming since I was a child, but thank you for the offer!”

As she laughed, it seemed that Mipha put just a bit too much strength into the pull, for the next moment, Zelda came close to falling forwards. However, moments before Zelda would surely not have been able to avoid hitting the ground, the panic making her freeze rather than act, Mipha somehow managed to stop her fall, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling he back up.

“Goddesses, I am so sorry about that,” Mipha said, but even as she apologised, she was not able to mask the joy in her voice, “I don’t know what I was thinking about, though I suspect I had just completely forgot about everything for a moment!”

At once all too aware of just how close they were standing, almost pressed against one another, with Mipha’s arm still resting around her shoulders, Zelda was only able to mumble a short response, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground between them as she spoke. “Oh, no, it is fine. I am just as much to blame for that as you were.”

“Well, no matter who should have to bear the blame for that, I can almost feel how the water is calling for us.” Mipha nodded towards the river next to them, and although Zelda had otherwise sworn that she would never be able to look up, the embarrassment associated with having to look at Mipha after what had just happened feeling like it would be enough to kill her, she was not able to stop herself in time, instinctively looking over at Mipha to follow her line of sight and seeing how the water, gentle waves breaking the otherwise still surface, almost seemed to draw her closer to it.

“Then why don’t we jump in?”

Mipha shot her a surprised look, but it only lasted for a second before it disappeared, instead replaced by a smile and a short laugh as Mipha took her hand. “Yes, why don’t we indeed.”

As Zelda placed the writing pad in the grass, only pausing for a moment to ensure that the water from the river and the dirt from the ground beneath it would not be able to ruin any of her work before turning around to run into the waves with Mipha, she realised exactly what the unidentifiable feeling, the butterflies in her stomach, and the way she would find herself forgetting everything when Mipha would let her hand brush against her, reaching out to splash water on her, had been, what it still was.

However, as she looked at Mipha, saw how she shook her head, the drops of water that soon filled the air around her reflecting the rays of the sun, surrounding her with light, Zelda knew that she would not tell her. Not yet, at least. For now, it was enough for her to simply be able to know what the feelings meant.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to, you are more than welcome to come find me on [Tumblr](https://theseventhsage.tumblr.com/)


End file.
